Many times, I've tried to open PDF files and failed, both with 3rd party
readers and with Adobe Reader.
Universal portability is less than a rumor; more like a myth.
Bobby
On Thu, 28 Jan 2010 01:46:40 -0600, Richard Fateman
<fateman at cs.berkeley.edu> wrote:
> Nasser M. Abbasi wrote:
>> "Richard Fateman" <fateman at cs.berkeley.edu> wrote in message news:hjmjg4
>>
>>> OK, I'll go further and even say this:
>>>
>>> I would certainly shy away from a presentation that required the reader
>>> to own a free Mathematica player.
>>>
>>> Why?
>>>
>>> 1. Most people do not have it, while most people DO have Adobe Reader.
>>>
>>
>> True. But this is just logistics and the case today. Adobe reader was
>> around
>> much longer than the Mathematica player.
>
> I think that the free Mathematica player has been around for quite a few
> years. The story I heard was that the person who wrote the front end on
> the Mac insisted that it be given away. Let's say that it has been out
> for 15 years. How many Adobe reader programs were there 15 years after
> its introduction?
>
> I still remember the times when I
>> could not open a PDF file becuase I did not have PDF reader installed
>> on the
>> PC I was using.
>
> You must have a good memory or a bad PC.
>
>>
>>> 2. Getting a copy of Mathematica Player seems to require that you
>>> supply
>>> WRI with your email and other information.
>>>
>>
>> OK, This can easily be fixed.
>
> not obvious that you can do that -- what if a password is sent to that
> email?
>
>>
>>> 3. I suspect that downloading Mathematica Player to a computer in a
>>> public library would not be allowed.
>>>
>>
>> Downloading a PDF reader is also not allowed.
>
> It is not necessary because it is already there.
>
> ...
>
>>
>> If the player was installed on that public PC, then clicking on a player
>> file (.nbp extension) should open it, just like clicking on a PDF file
>> should cause the PDF reader on the PC to open it.
>
> It seems that the free player can only load notebooks "curated" by WRI,
> if I understand the restrictions. So mailing someone a .nb file won't
> work.
>>
>> This is what WRI should do: make the player support all Mathematica
>> functions, and make arrangements with PC makers to have it in each PC
>> and
>> also fill the shopping malls and the post officies with CD's that have
>> the
>> player in it (like they did with AOL many years ago). in few years, the
>> Mathematica player will be just as widespreadly used as PDF reader is
>> today,
>> and it will become the main tool of exchanging scientific and
>> mathematical
>> notes between scientists, engineers and students.
>
> This happens after Stephen Wolfram becomes king of the world, and
> probably closes WRI, since it will no longer earn any money.
>
> RJF
>
--
DrMajorBob at yahoo.com